LIBRARY 

OK  THH 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

GIKT  OF* 


Accessions  No  . 


JAM  JRP5 

CLiss  No 


*-!*• 


/ 


-'i 


THE 


SLEEPING   PRINCESS 
CALIFORNIA 


BY 


ALICE    EDWARDS    PRATT 


ILLUSTRATED  BY  E.  MABEL  DILLAWAY 


WILLIAM  DOXEY 
SAN     FRANCISCO 


COPYRIGHT,    1892 
BY 

ALICE    EDWARDS    PRATT 


LIST   OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Subject. 
Title-page. 

(SENTINEL  MOUNTAINS  BEFORE  DAWN,  WITH  MARIPOSA  LILY  AND    PF.XT- 
STEMON.) 

••Through  sunny  leagues  her  empire  stretched  away.'' 

(NAPA  VALLEY,  LOOKING  SOUTH  FROM  LOGAN  POINT.) 

••  Here  wooded  to  the  peak,  there  crowned  with  snow." 

(MOUNT  SHASTA.) 
••  Its  placid  sapphire  lakes,  and  living  streams." 

(ARROW  LAKE,  KING'S  RIVER  CANYON.) 
(BRANCH  OF  KING'S  RIVER,  AT  LILLIS.) 

••  Its  serrate  wall  of  ice  and  granite.'' 

(PORTION  OF  THE  EAST  WALL  OF  KING'S  RIVER  CANYON.) 

;t  Of  harbors  crowded  with  the  laden  fleets." 

(WHARVES  AT  SAN  FRANCISCO.) 
••  Her  feathery  redwoods  changed  to  mansions  grand." 

(REDWOODS,  SANTA  CRUZ  MOUNTAINS,  AND  THE  HOPKINS  RESIDENCE,  SAN 
FRANCISCO.) 


Before  her  sight  fair  halls  of  learning  rose." 

(LIBRARY  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  BERKELEY.) 
(PORTION  OF  QUADRANGLE  AT  STANFORD  UNIVERSITY.) 


Subject. 

•'  Writ  on  her  fields  in  tongues  of  poppy  flame." 

"  The  yucca  tall 

Its  snowy  campanile  bore  aloft." 

(ESCHSCHOI.TZIA,    IN    NAPA    VALLEY.) 

(YuccA  WHIPPLEI,  SIERRAS.) 

"  The  torrents  wove  white  bridal  veils  of  mist." 

(BRIDAL  VEIL  FALLS,  YOSEMITE  VALLEY.) 

"The  ocean  sobbed  that  he  so  long  delayed." 

(CYPRESS  POINT,  MONTEREY  COAST.) 

"Cities  dot  her  rich  domain." 

(SPRING  STREET,  Los  ANGELES.) 

(SAN  FRAXCISCO,  FROM  CALIFORNIA  STREET  HILL.) 

••  From  mines  and  fields  and  vineyards  numberless.' 

(VINEYARDS  IN  NAPA  VALLEY  AND  THE  GOLDEN  GATE.) 

"Her  smitten  rocks  yield  gold  and  silver  streams." 
(HYDRAULIC  MINING.) 

•'  And  Wisdom  rule  the  State  with  peaceful  sway." 

(STATE  CAPITOL,  SACRAMENTO.) 

-  The  temple,  crowned  with  upward-pointing  spire." 
(FIRST  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH,  SAN  FRANCISCO.) 


BUT  half  a  century  ago  she  lay 
All  mutely  beautiful,  in  rich  attire, 
The  sleeping  Princess,  California. 
Not  yet  had  come  the  voice,  not  yet  the  touch, 
That  was  to  thrill  her  waking  soul  with  joy ; 
Not  yet  her  virgin  lips  had  felt  the  kiss 
That  was  to  bring  her  full,  ecstatic  life. 
We  see  her  now,  as  white  man  first  beheld 
Her  lavish  splendor,  prophecy  of  wealth 
Untold  to  come  in  her  inheritance. 


Through 


sunny  t»    leagues  her  empire  stretched  away, 


Domain  as  fair    '     as  king  e'er  looked  upon  : 

Its  valleys  filled  with  tremulous  oaten  seas 
Broken  by  rainbow  crests  of  flower  foam  ; 
Its  foot-hill  slopes,  soft-rounded,  overgrown 
\Yith  dimpled  pastures  such  as  wild  bees  love  : 
Its  rugged  mountain  monarchs,  range  on  range. 


Here  wooded  to  the  peak,  there  crowned  with  snow ; 


Its  placid  sapphire  lakes, 

and  living  streams ; 


Forests  of  redwood,  fir,  sequoia,  pine, 
And  groves  of  lordly  oak;  its  serrate  wall 
Of  ice  and  granite. 


California  slept, 

But  not  a  dreamless  sleep.     Her  spirit  waked. 
Through  Morpheus'  gates  of  horn  fair  visions  trooped, 
To  whisper  to  her  of  the  days  to  come, — 


Of  harbors  r*~    _ 

crowded  with  the  laden  fleets 

Of  every  nation  under  heaven ;    of  vast 
And  rich  young  cities  that,  with  rhythmic  pulse, 
Diastole  and  systole,  sent  streams 
Of  knowledge  and  of  power  through  all  the  land, 
And  in  return  drew  back  into  themselves 
The  strength  and  wealth  of  mountain,  plain,   and  sea. 


With  vapor  shod,  or  winged  with  lightnings  fleet, 
Her  couriers  went  forth  ;    and  in  their  train 
Rode  sturdy  life  and  growth,  culture  and  power. 
She  dreamed  of  coffers  filled  with  shining  coin, 
Of  dusky  miners  working  the  fat  veins 
Of  solid  sunlight  in  the  depths  of  earth. 
She  saw  broad  acres,  tickled  by  the  plough, 
Laugh  out  in  rippling  waves  of  golden  grain. 
She  heard  the  markets  of  the  world  demand 
Oil  from  her  presses,  and  send  up  a  shout 
Of  triumph  as  her  sparkling  vintage  poured 
Its  amber  and  its  crimson. 


Now  her  pride, 

Her  feathery  redwoods,   changed  to  mansions  grand 
Her  giant  firs  and  cedars  skimmed  the  seas. 


Before  her  sight  v   fair  halls  of  learning  rose, 
Thronged  by  the  sons  and  daughters  of  the  West, 
Who  fain  would  read  the  runes  that  God  has  carved 
On  rock  and  star  and  flower  and  heart  of  man. 


Then  she  became,  in  bounteous  autumn  days, 
The  goddess  Ceres,  with  inverted  horn 
Showering  upon  the  earth  fruit,  flower,   and  grain, 
And  wearing  on  her  brows  an  olive  crown. 

Over  her  lips,  as  dreaming  thus  she  lay. 
Smiles  —  happy  smiles  —  like   hovering  shadows  played; 
And  listening  elves  of  earth  and  sea  and  sky 
Heard  her  soft  breathing,  read  her  visions  true, 
And  in  their  mystic  language  strove  to  tell 
The  world  her  story,  that  the  Prince  might  hear, — 
The  Prince  who  was  to  wake  the  Sleeping  Fair 
And  claim  her,  with  her  goodly  royal  dower. 


Writ  on  her  fields  in  tongues  of  poppy  flame, 

Her  name  —  The  Golden  One  —  appeared. 
Or  'twas 

In  buttercup  and  mariposa  traced, 
(,^  Or  whispered  where 

^jg  \  the  mustard  groves 

stretched  on 
O'er  laughing 
roods. 


With  azure  bells  and  pearl, 
The  pentstemon  and  manzanita  rang 

Their  sweetest  elfin  chimes ;  and,  emblem  fair 
Of  strength  and  purity,  the  yucca  tall 
Its  snowy  campanile  bore  aloft. 
Nemophike  the  modest  beauty  praised 
Of  maiden  eyes,  sweet  mirror  of  the 

heavens. 
From  tree-top  and  from  shady  covert, 

lark 
And  linnet  poured  gay  madrigals  of  song. 


The  torrents  wove  white  bridal  veils  of  mist, 

To  hint  the  nuptials  that  the   Prince  shoujd  Jknow ; 


The  ocean  sobbed  that  he  so  long  delayed. 

Yet  still  fair  California's  hills  and  vales 
The  idle  Indian  trod ;  and  Mexico, 
Though  indolently  coveting  her  wealth, 
Knew  not  the  Princess'  heart.     She  slumbered  on. 


Lured  by  reputed  treasure,  those  had  come 
Whose  only  aim  was  to  enrich  themselves. 
Plunderers,  they,  who  found,  perchance,  the  gold, 
But  never  with  their  self-dimmed  eyes  divined 
The  greater  treasure, —  California's  soul. 
But  one  glad  morning  all  the  sprites  of  earth 
And  heaven  broke  forth  in  hymeneal  sweet. 
The  Prince  had  seen  the  Sleeping  One,  had  loved, 
Not  the  rich  yellow  metal  of  her  mines, 
But  her  fair  self,  whose  virgin  heart  he  saw. 
His  kiss,  the  pledge  of  fealty  for  aye, 
The  free-born  Manhood  of  the  Atlantic  shore 
Bestowed  in  rapture,  and  she  waked  in  joy. 


Four  are  the  circling  decades 

that  have  poured 
Their  blessings  in  her  lap 

since  that  glad  hour, 
And,  lo  !    to-day  her  dreams 

are  coming  true. 
No  warp  and  woof  of  fancy, 

but  firm  fact 

Their  texture. 
I 

Cities  dot  her  rich  domain 

From  sea-girt  west 

to  snow-crowned  eastern  wall. 


The  treasures  of  the  past  are  in  her  hands  ; 
The  life-blood  of  to-day  leaps  in  her  veins. 
From  Berkeley's  Hills  and  Palo  Alto's  Plains 
Incense  of  learning  rises,  sweet  and  strong. 


Within  her  ports  the  fleets  of  nations  wait 
To  carry  thence  her  ore  and  grain  and  wine. 
From  mines  and  fields  and   vineyards  numberless. 


0?  THE     '^ 

'TJ'HIVBHSITT: 


^4?. 


".rro1 


Her  orchards  bow  with  their  abundant  fruit ; 
Her  smitten  rocks  yield  gold  and  silver  streams; 
Each  gracious  boon  that  Nature  offers  man 
As  guerdon  for  his  toil  may  here  be  won. 

O  happy  Prince,  with  such  a  blest  estate ! 
Wedded  to  one  who  counts  it  joy  to  yield 
Herself  and  all  her  wealth  to  his  control! 


His  eager  manhood  burned  with  high  resolve 
And  purpose  noble,  when  he  wooed  and  won 
This  Princess  California.     With   a  heart 
Thrilled  with  an  honest  love,  he  sought  her  own. 
Her  future  rests  with  him.     All  breathlessly 
We  wait  to  see  if  he  accepts  the  trust 
As  from  the  Giver  of  all  perfect  gifts, — 
His  but  to  use  for  noble  purposes. 

O  you  who  sow  and  reap  these  sun-kissed  fields, 
Tillers  of  California's  soil,  to  you  we  speak, 
To  you  who've  won  the  Princess  Beautiful ! 
Blinded  by  power,  filled  with  thirst  for  gain, 
Will  you  degrade  her  wealth  to  selfish  ends  ? 


Labor  is  in  your  hands  a  magic  wand. 

Oh!  will  you  wave  it  only  to  produce 

The  mart  of  commerce  and  the  wheel  of  trade  ? 

Soil  not  the  pure  and  trusting  heart  that  now 

Is  in  your  keeping.     Stain  it  not  with  crime, 

Nor  fill  these  valleys  with  the  revelry 

Of  Bacchus  or  the  strife  of  Mars. 

No  lot  so  blest  as  his  who  works  with  God 

In  seed-time  and  in  harvest,  casting  in 

The  grain,  and  then,  with  humble  prayer  of  faith, 

Waiting  for  God  to  send  his  blessing  down, — 

Partner  in  labor  with  the  King  of  kings. 


* 


Forget  not  that  it  all  belongs  to  him, — 
The  soil  and  all  its  lavish  harvest  yield, — 
And  use  it  for  the  Giver.     Then,  indeed, 
This  land  shall  bud  and  blossom  as  the  rose, 
Science  shall  harness  all  the  powers  of  earth, 
And  Wisdom  rule  the  State  with  peaceful  sway 


Culture  shall  smile, 

and  Liberty  shall    f   shout; 
While  side  by  side  with  mill  and  mart  shall  rise 

The  temple,  cro^oed^ith  upward-pointing  spire. 


YC   14432 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


: 


m . 


